KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The Bank of Japan (BOJ) hiked as expected, but Governor Ueda Kazuo declined to commit to a more aggressive pace of normalization despite pressure from the US and financial markets.
- Ueda demonstrated that despite political pressure from Washington – and implicit pressure from the Takaichi government not to move too quickly – Ueda’s cautiousness suggests that the bank will continue to move at a careful, deliberate pace.